Gerrard reveals Real Madrid snub

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard turned down an offer from Jose Mourinho when he took charge of Real Madrid and admits he would have liked to play under the Portuguese.

Mourinho is a confirmed admirer of the England captain and his efforts to sign him during his time as Chelsea boss are well documented. He tried and failed on two occasions, but Gerrard has revealed a third approach came only two years ago when he took charge of Real Madrid.

When asked about the interest from Mourinho when he was Chelsea boss, Gerrard said: "Liverpool weren't really challenging at the time, so there was something to think about.

"But I ended up saying 'no' and a year later I said 'no' again. But he came back when he arrived at Real Madrid two years ago.

"I look at some players who get interest from clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona and they cause absolute wars to get out and get there. But that has never been me and, again, it just wasn't going to happen."

Gerrard is now 32 and highly likely to see out his career at Liverpool, but he still wonders what it would be like to play under Mourinho. "I would like to play for Mourinho, the Special One."

During a Twitter Q&A, Gerrard revealed Luis Suarez is the best striker he has played with and heaped praise on former Reds star Xabi Alonso - describing the Spaniard as the "best midfielder I've played with. I miss playing with him."